“You’re never going to want to leave!” Said everyone I have ever known, referring to my upcoming move to the city for college. I would just smile and nod my head, but never believe them.
I’m a true suburban girl at heart. I love my small town, knowing every street name, and having a backyard that’s full of leaves to rake in the fall. I live for driving my old car with the heat blasting to warm my frozen fingers after scraping off layers of snow and ice. Which is why I surprised my family, and even myself, when I chose to attend college in Boston. The bustle of the city was only something I have experienced a few times a year; now it’ll be every day. Instead of surviving off the heat of my car, I’m taking a liking to feeling the sharp bite of the cold on the tip of my nose when I walk.
Maybe it’s just because I’m in college now, but the city gives me a sense of freedom I’ve never experienced before. I love the late night train rides and the feeling of the pavement beneath my boots. I adapted more quickly than I expected. My open window at night welcomes the sounds of sirens and the joyous cries of people living a life similar to mine. I no longer sleep in silence, but I sleep with a sense of awareness; I’m intensely aware of the world around me. It’s a great feeling.
Even the small, three mile radius where I spend most of my time still feels new every day. That finite space provides me an abundance of sights and sounds I have yet to become acquainted with. It’s only taken me less than two months to realize that they were right.
I don’t want to leave.
Not anytime soon at least. Maybe all the clutter and chaos of Boston will get the best of me one day, but I don’t see that happening in the near future. Right now I’m relishing in everything that I have been missing while in the suburbs. Although I do miss my friends and family, I’m happy to be living right here, right now, in the center.
